The cost of signing Cutter Gauthier remains high for the Anaheim Ducks. Meanwhile, there's ongoing speculation over Pavel Zacha's future with the Boston Bruins.
The Anaheim Ducks matched the five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Leo Carlsson from the Philadelphia Flyers last month, but it complicated their efforts to re-sign Cutter Gauthier.
PuckPedia indicates the Ducks have just over $9 million in cap space. With Carlsson earning a team-leading average annual value of $18 million, they don’t have enough to get Gauthier under contract without shedding salary.
Gauthier is coming off his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights. Unlike Carlsson, the 21-year-old winger is ineligible to sign an offer sheet because he hasn't played the mandatory amount of games played to qualify.
Ordinarily, that would give the Ducks considerable leverage over Gauthier in their negotiations. However, his team-leading 41 goals and 69 points last season and Carlsson’s expensive new contract give him sufficient justification to seek a more lucrative deal.
On Sunday, NHL Network Radio’s Paul Shaheen stated that reliable sources claimed the Gauthier camp rejected a four-year contract with an AAV of $13 million. He believes that “if/when Gauthier signs, the Ducks will have to be creative to be at the cap come the start of the season.”
Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler agreed. She noted that the Ducks will get cap relief next summer when veteran wingers Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn become unrestricted free agents, but she wondered what they would do in the meantime to address that issue.
Earlier this summer, there was an unsubstantiated rumor that Gauthier wouldn’t take a penny less than Carlsson’s $18 million. While Shaheen’s report could prompt more speculation that he’s seeking as much as his teammate, he could prefer something in the $15-million range.
Whatever the amount, the Ducks must become cap-compliant before the start of the regular season once they get Gauthier under contract.
Placing sidelined winger Troy Terry and his $7 million AAV on long-term injury reserve to start the season will help, but they must free up cap space once he’s ready to return to action.
The Hockey News’ Andre Leal recently listed Kreider, Killorn, and Frank Vatrano as cost-cutting trade candidates. Killorn carries a cap hit of $6.5 million, Kreider’s is $6.2 million, and Vatrano’s is $4.5 million.
Meanwhile, in Boston, questions linger over Pavel Zacha’s future with the Bruins.
The 29-year-old center is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July unless he signs an extension. He’s in the final season of a four-year contract with an AAV of $4.75 million.
Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald noted that Zacha’s durability and reliability make him worth retaining. However, his value in the trade market has never been higher, and he could fetch a substantial return.
Conroy added that re-signing Zacha could also block a promising young center such as Fraser Minten, James Hagens, or Dean Letourneau from moving up.
It’s believed the Bruins intend to re-sign Zacha, but he was also the subject of some trade speculation earlier in the offseason.
They’re unlikely to move him if they don’t get a deal done before the start of the season. However, his situation could be worth monitoring by the March 1 trade deadline if the Bruins are out of contention by that point.
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